1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plastic conveyor chain wherein a plurality of plastic link elements are connected with each other by connecting pins extending through pin holes in the link elements.
2. Description of the Related Art
In this type of plastic conveyor chain, it is a conventional practice to provide a retainer device for normally retaining the connecting pins in the pin hole and preventing them from being unintentionally removed from the pin holes, so that they can be readily disengaged from the pin holes whenever necessary. To this end, for example, the conveyor chain is provided with plugs each having a plurality of deformable legs which are forcedly driven axially into the pin hole and engaged with a recess in the inner peripheral surface of the pin hole.
However, in order to remove the connecting pins from the pin holes, it is necessary to temporarily remove the plugs from the pin holes in advance. Not only is the removal of the plugs from the pin holes troublesome and time-consuming, but also the plugs are lost quite frequently. When the plug is lost, the plug is often mixed with articles to be transferred by the conveyor chain.